I hopped in my car the other day and traveled to destinations near and far. Okay, well, not really that far; like 20 to 35 minutes from my home, but still, I went out on a few missions.

First, I took a trip to the grocery store to grab eight items on my grocery list, which ultimately led to filling my cart with almost 50 items. Hey, hold the judgement, I needed all of them. Anyway, after finishing my grocery shopping, I placed my online order at Pressed Cafe, grabbed the order and then it was home again, home again, jiggety jig.

Needless to say, the breakfast sandwiches were very satisfying! From that point, I proceeded to do what I usually do on a Saturday morning; I started scouring Zillow, continuing my endless quest for a potential new or used home. After being disappointed by listing after listing, I found one that intrigued me, so I set off on my second adventure of the day, driving thirty-five minutes north, to what I hoped was the holy grail of listings.

I bet you’re wondering how it went, and all I can say is – ehhh. It seems like every property has something not quite right, whether it’s the location, the price, or the house itself. Today’s housing market is tough. From there, I drove to a gas station, stopped at The Paper Store, and finished at CVS before arriving back home to report my findings, and bury myself in Zillow listings again. Ugh. But, before I arrived back home, I had a few experiences while I was out that got me thinking.

When I was parking near The Paper Store, a shopping cart was taking up residence right where I wanted to park. A gentleman, probably the one who left the cart in the way, quickly moved it to the side so I could pull in. When I got out of my car, he was going to bring the cart back to the cart coral, but I insisted on taking it for him. We both did each other a solid and all was well.

Ten minutes later, I walked out of The Paper Store, bag in hand (and yes, that was the shortest amount of time I’ve ever spent in The Paper Store) and I stood at the crosswalk, hoping to safely navigate the extremely busy parking lot on the way to my car. I watched as a car approached the crosswalk from the left. For some reason, I waited to step into the road, unlike the way I’d behave in Boston or Barcelona, taking my life in my hands to run across the street. I stared at the driver, waiting, waiting… desperately wanting to make eye contact with him to make sure I could proceed. I’m fairly sure he looked right at me, but much to my surprise he rolled on by, never acknowledging me. I was muttering after the car passed. I can’t lie – I allowed my brain to send a message to my mouth, and that’s when a few choice words slipped out.

Overall, my two encounters happened over a fifteen-minute period, and they left this writer wondering what the point of it all was. Let’s recreate the scenes. First, there was the kind man who took responsibility for his cart and helped me out with a parking spot, then wished me a Merry Christmas, and then there’s the police vehicle that rolled right on by me standing patiently at the crosswalk, without a care in the world or any concern for me whatsoever. Interesting, don’t you think? I guess people are just people no matter what costume they wear, and in the end, it’s up to all of us to decide who we will emulate this holiday season.